1. Field of the Invention
This description generally relates to line guides that can be used with a variety of fishing rods.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fishing rods are generally coupled with either a conventional reel or a spinning reel. The reel is primarily used for casting, retracting and controlling the fishing line. The actual fishing rod is an assembly of tapered blanks with a series of line guides extending down the length of the rod for guiding the fishing line from the reel to the tip of the rod. Line guides are generally circular rings placed at various locations along the rod and attached to the rod with wrapping material. The rings typically have a larger diameter near the reel-end of the rod and a small diameter near the tip-end of the rod.
Another type of line guide has a pulley, or roller, that facilitates the fishing line running over the line guide. One example of such a line guide is sold under the trademark BIG FOOT® guides by AFTCO Manufacturing Company, Inc. of Irvine, Calif. A groove in the pulley inhibits the fishing line from slipping off the roller and abrading against the line guide housing; however, the pulley is not foolproof, and slippage of the line off of the pulley is possible. Line guides with pulleys are described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,041, issued to Betto and entitled “Guiding Device for Fishing-Rod Lines.”
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the conventional-reel rod and the spinning-reel rod, respectively. FIG. 1 illustrates the conventional-reel rod 1 with a conventional reel 2 mounted on the topside of the rod. Standard, ring-shaped line guides 3 extend down the length of the rod, and are also mounted on the topside of the rod. Although ring-shaped line guides 3 are shown in the FIG. 1, the standard, horizontal roller guides discussed above could be used instead of the ring-shaped line guides, but only if the conventional reel 2 is coupled with the rod.
FIG. 2 illustrates the spinning-reel rod 5 coupled with the spinning reel 6. In such a configuration, the first line guide 7 to receive the fishing line from the spinning reel typically has a larger diameter than the first line guide 3 used in the conventional-reel rod configuration. Due to the circular pattern in which the fishing line pays out from or reels on to the spinning reel 6, the larger diameter of the first line guide 7 creates less tension, pull, and friction on the fishing line. Gravity acting on the fishing line tends to keep the fishing line in contact with the lowest point 8 of each of the line guides (i.e., the top of the ring 8 if viewing the ring-shaped line guide in an upright position). The action of gravity, which forces the fishing line downward, is one reason why standard roller guides are not used in the spinning-reel rod configuration. The use of standard, horizontal roller guides in such a configuration would not serve any benefit because the fishing line would not stay in contact with the pulley.
Although the choice of reel is one of the parameters that affects the angler's choice of line guides, another parameter is the character of the fishing rod itself. In particular, the type of material that the rod blanks are made from and the amount of taper along the rod dictates, for the most part, the amount of “rod action.” “Rod action” is a term that indicates the amount of flexibility or stiffness in the rod and is generally dictated by the degree of taper along the length of the rod. The amount of rod action is important to anglers because a stiff (i.e., fast action) rod is better suited for large game fish where the hook has to be firmly set and the rod must be powerful enough to handle the action of the large fish. A slow-action rod is better suited for small fish where the flexible nature of the rod helps prevent the bait from coming off the hook. Many anglers use a medium action rod as a versatile, go-between rod for smaller fish or larger, fresh water fish. The two primary materials used to construct fishing rod blanks are either fiberglass or carbon reinforced composite (i.e., graphite).
Once an angler selects a rod with a desired amount of rod action, it is important that the line guides do not detract from or adversely affect the rod action. Experienced anglers know that the quantity, mounting style, and placement of the line guides along the length of the rod can have a fairly significant effect on the overall performance of the rod. Line guides can affect the rod action, but most importantly, the line guides affect the smooth transition of the fishing line from the reel to the end of the rod.
In many angling situations, whether fly fishing or large game fishing, an angler will often have a need to pull, twist, turn, or otherwise manipulate the spatial orientation of the rod. Two such examples are pulling the rod horizontally to pull a fish out of an area covered with reeds or when fishing off a pier or a boat, and trying to keep the tip low to the water when using artificial bait. This type of manipulation can cause the fishing line to abrade against the ring-type line guides. Abrasion causes the line filament to degrade, fray, and break. Line breakage not only results in the cost of replacing the fishing line, which can get expensive, but often the loss of fishing tackle and bait, not to mention the loss of that one special fish, thus relinquishing the angler to the role of telling the story about “the one that got away.”